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Dry Creek Vineyards Fumé Blanc 2005

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Tasting Notes

The 2005 Dry Creek Vineyards Fumé Blanc is knockout Sauvignon Blanc. It combines the best of California fruit with the classic distinction of the finest Sancerre wines from France. It is no wonder that Dry Creek Sauvignon Blanc is the benchmark by which all other California Sauvignon Blanc wines are measured. Scents of melon, fig, grapefruit, herb, and fresh mown grass pour from the glass. In the mouth, this exemplary Fumé Blanc follows through completely on the olfactory with an explosion of clean, refreshing flavors that linger on the tongue. Impeccably balanced and varietally intense, Dry Creek's 2005 Fumé Blanc is textbook perfect. We suggest serving the exuberant Dry Creek Fumé Blanc well chilled, at least initially. Afterwards, allow this wine to unfold in the glass as it reaches towards a more ambient temperature. Most of all enjoy its pinpoint flavors and embracing vitality!

Accompaniments

Clams, mussels, prawns, oysters, scallops, and just about anything else with a shell on it or that comes out of the sea is a sure bet with the 2005 Dry Creek Vineyards Fumé Blanc. Herb encrusted chicken breasts, cheese pies, and quiches provide great companionship as well and offer excellent alternatives to seafood Hors d'oeuvres and appetizers make fine accompaniments, too. Furthermore, one of our favorite choices with top notch Fumé Blanc is a variety of gourmet cheeses, specifically Brie, Camembert, and other crusted cheeses. Dry Sancerre style Sauvignon Blanc's such as Dry Creek's Fumé Blanc are, perhaps, the finest accompaniments to full-flavored crusted cheeses, which can on account of their crusts render some red wines charm less and steely. In the company of such cheeses, both the cheese and the Dry Creek Vineyard Fumé Blanc will shine.

Winery Notes

When David Stare opened the doors of Dry Creek Vineyard in 1972, his foresight signaled a dramatic change for Sonoma County's Dry Creek Valley. Dry Creek Vineyards was the first new winery to open in Dry Creek Valley since Prohibition. Guided by a new vision for a long neglected grape growing region, Stare's initiative launched a new era in American viticulture. Furthermore, Stare's action and vision have subsequently transformed Sonoma County and much of the way we think about American wine.
David Stare began his illustrious affair with wine in Dry Creek Valley in 1972 when he purchased a single parcel of land on Dry Creek Road, which was then nothing more than a run down prune orchard. There, he planted his first forty acres of grapes, mostly Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, and Chardonnay. The locals ridiculed him and even the "farm experts" laughed at his folly, going so far as to exclaim, "Sauvignon Blanc will never grow successfully in Dry Creek Valley." Today, Fumé Blanc (dry Sauvignon Blanc) is Dry Creek Vineyards' flagship white wine and its original claim to fame. Moreover, Dry Creek Valleys' Chenin Blanc is the yardstick by which all other California Chenin Blancs are now measured. We wonder who is laughing now . . . well, so much for the naysayers and so called experts. It takes courage, persistence, and vision to be a pioneer.
Dry Creek Vineyards' leadership under Stare has inspired many important changes for Sonoma County. Not only was Sonoma County's first Fumé Blanc created at Dry Creek Vineyards, but new standards of quality in California have resulted from Stare's advocacy for Bordeaux style blending for red wines. Stare proposed meritage offerings, as opposed to strict varietal bottling of a single grape variety, long before almost anyone else. Yet, Stare's greatest contribution to American viticulture is, perhaps, his success in securing appellation status for the entire Dry Creek Valley, due almost entirely to Stare's own accomplishments and the success of his Dry Creek Vineyards. These are no mean feats for a young MIT graduate from Boston, who decided in 1971 to give up his secure but unfulfilling career in civil engineering to become a true California pioneer and a Dry Creek Valley legend.
Aside from his many personal accomplishments at Dry Creek Vineyards, David Stare has been an advocate far and wide for Sonoma County wines. He has left his pioneering spirit and entrepreneurial mark on quite a few important Sonoma County organizations. It is as if the securing of BATF approval for the creation of the Dry Creek Valley in 1983 as a distinct appellation or American Viticicutural Area were just Stare's first step in promoting Dry Creek Valley, as he went on to found an important regional organization of growers called Wine Growers of Dry Creek Valley. David Stare is, also, a founding member and past president of the California Wineries Association. In addition, he was an early supporter of The Meritage Society in California and a founding father of the Society of Blancs (SOB's), an organization that extols and promotes the virtues of the noble Sauvignon Blanc varietal.
Many thanks to David Stare and the dedicated team at Dry Creek Valley Vineyards for more than thirty years of pioneering excellence!